Bangladesh conceded a six-wicket defeat against Otago A eleven in a practice match of the Pre-Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2018, held at the University of Otago Oval, Dunedin, in New Zealand on Wednesday. 

Otago A chased down an easy target of 171 runs, scoring 176 for 4 in 36.5 overs spurred by the opener GW Croudis’s half century of 73 off 96 balls, including six boundary and one six, reports the UNB.

Croudis shared a partnership of 88 in 15.2 overs in the opening stand with HD Rutherford and continued his composures up to the 165/4 in 35.1 before fell victim of run out.

Rutherford was caught by Qazi Onik off Robiul Haque after scoring 44 off 55 balls, including five boundaries and one six, while HJ Visavadiya  added unbeaten 30 off 44 balls with two fours for their victory.

Spinner Robiul Haque was the only successful bowler of Bangladesh grabbing three wickets for 16 in six overs.

Batting first after winning the toss, Bangladesh scored 170/10 in 40.2 overs where skipper Saif Hassan sparkled with a half century of 54 off 69 balls, including eight boundaries and one six. 

Saif was caught by JJ Tasman-Jones off HJ Visavadiya, leaving the team collection on 97/3 in 22.5 overs, after contributing 43 in 13 overs and 42 in 6.2 overs in the 3rd and 2nd wicket stands with Pinak Ghosh and Tawhid Hridoy respectively.

Number-5 batsman Afif Hossain was another notable scorer with 40 off 44 balls, including three boundaries and two sixes, while Aminul Islam (22 off 29b; 2x4), Tawhid Hridoy (15 off 31b; 1x4) and opener Pinak Ghosh (14 off 24b; 3x4) were the other double digit scorers for the side.

C Viljoen captured five wickets for an economic 31 runs in nine overs while F Mostert bagged two for 32 in 10 overs.

Bangladesh will play the next practice match against the same opponent at the same venue on Thursday.

After this match results, it has seemed that Saif-led Bangladesh’s young Tigers facing challenges to cope with the overseas condition before their Group C campaign in the12th edition of the U19 CWC, which is scheduled to kick off on January 13. The 16-team biennial world event will be end on February 3.     

In the previous edition of the tournament in 2016, Bangladesh reached into the semifinals stage and made their exit from the main race losing to West Indies by three wickets on their home soil in Mirpur. The host Bangladesh finally finished the 3rd beating Sri Lanka by three wickets in the play-off match in Fatullah.       

Bangladesh U19 XI: Naim Sheikh, Pinak Ghosh, Saif Hassan (captain), Tawhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Aminul Islam, Mahidul Islam (wicketkeeper), Qazi Onik, Nayeem Hasan, Robiul Haque, Hasan Mahmud, Tipu Sultan, Mohammad Rakib, Shakil Hossain and Roni Hossen. 

Otago A XI: HD Rutherford, GW Croudis, CT Hawkins, JJ Tasman-Jones (captain), HJ Visavadiya, NG Smith, C Viljoen, F Mostert, CJ Jackson (wicketkeeper), JS Hunter, BJ Andrews-Kennedy and RLJ Whelan.